Archive for May, 2014

07
May
14

5.7.14 … “I have the same body-deadening weight of the condemned, counting the minutes until the final moments of a life that’s all I’ve ever known. This encompass­ing, exhausting sadness I had mostly forgotten, or buried, until now.” – Rob Lowe … change … global humiliation driven by the Internet … “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” …

Rob Lowe, transitions, broken heart, Love Life:  I should never sit down with my computer when I am in a funk …

When was the last time my heart was breaking?

The death of my mother was one time, but her passing was pro­longed enough to let me prepare for it, to the extent anyone can. At the most intense moment, sitting at her gravesite, I felt like I could hear every leaf blower in a 50-mile radius, felt as if I could feel the sun’s rays turning my skin darker shades with each second, my skin irritated and jumpy, making me want to crawl out of it. I’m feeling it all now again, but no one has died.

When I was a boy, I had to leave my friends in the summer, just as Malibu was becoming Malibu, say goodbye to my first girlfriend and go to Ohio to stay with my dad. There is a little of that sense memory at play too, a feeling that I’m about to be left out of important events, separated from life as I know it, the world as I love it.

I am remembering and feeling the details of my parents’ divorce and our family’s forced march out of my home to an alien world across the country. The goodbyes to my father and my beloved grandparents; rationally I knew I would see them all again, but now I have the same body-deadening weight of the condemned, counting the minutes until the final moments of a life that’s all I’ve ever known. This encompass­ing, exhausting sadness I had mostly forgotten, or buried, until now.

via Rob Lowe on sending his son off to college: An excerpt from Love Life..

Atlanta Braves, Cobb County:  And why do I care … I never go.  I just don’t like change.

The Atlanta Braves and Cobb County have substantially completed negotiations on five major agreements that are necessary before construction begins on the new Cumberland-area ballpark.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution received hundreds of pages of the draft documents Wednesday under the Georgia Open Records Act.

In interviews with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today, Cobb County Commission chairman Tim Lee and Braves executive vice president Mike Plant said the contract drafts released to the AJC are close to the final versions to be voted upon by Cobb commissioners on May 27.

“I don’t anticipate any substantial changes to any of those documents,” Lee said. That doesn’t preclude the possibility, he added, that small portions of the agreements might be reworked if something comes up “as our teams take a breath and step back and look at this.”

Said Plant: “Our teams are going to keep working for the next couple of weeks on tweaking a few of the things in there.”

One of the most important documents, the stadium development agreement, outlines the stadium project’s budget and taxpayers’ obligations toward funding construction.

The county and team have said consistently since announcing the Braves move in November that the stadium cost would be $672 million. But the current budget outlined in the stadium development agreement lists the “total project cost” at $622 million, with a “maximum stadium cost”of $672 million.

via Documents show Braves and Cobb close to final deal | www.ajc.com.

Monica Lewinsky,  Clintons,  global humiliation driven by the Internet, Washington Wire – WSJ:  There was intentionality to get Clinton, but his actions were wrong.  I feel sorry for Monica Lewinsky.  The weight of a new era … digital media … came down on her: . “[T]hanks to the Drudge Report, I was also possibly the first person whose global humiliation was driven by the Internet.”

She adds: “I am determined to have a different ending to my story. I’ve decided, finally, to stick my head above the parapet so that I can take back my narrative and give a purpose to my past. (What this will cost me, I will soon find out.)”

In the piece, she says she had considered suicide in the wake of the scandal, but never attempted to kill herself.  She writes of her mother’s fear that Ms. Lewinsky “would be literally humiliated to death.” In the Vanity Fair excerpts, she also mentions the role of the Drudge Report, which was first to break the scandal. “[T]hanks to the Drudge Report, I was also possibly the first person whose global humiliation was driven by the Internet.”

However cathartic all this is for Ms. Lewinsky, it’s hardly a welcome development for Mrs. Clinton.

via Monica Lewinsky Says Clintons Didn’t Pay Her to Stay Quiet – Washington Wire – WSJ.

Second Amendment to the Bill of Rights:  I am sorry GOP, I do not understand your obsession with the second Amendment.  I think gun rights (” the right of the people to keep and bear Arms”) are qualified by the Amendments introduction, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State.”

Amendment II

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

via Bill of Rights Transcript Text.

And I think the GOP’s extreme right wing’s use/abuse of this JFK quote is interesting.  JFK did not say we need armed citizens, but citizens who are not only prepared to take up arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as a basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom. We are given the right to bear arms collectively to protect our collective freedoms.  But our individual right to bear arms is a privilege and should be restricted/regulated to the same extent we regulate other privileges such as driving an automobile.

This year, the celebrations of Roosevelt Day has special significance for Democrats everywhere; for we celebrate not only the triumphs of the past but the opportunities of the future.

Twenty-eight years ago Franklin Roosevelt assumed the leadership of a stricken and demoralized nation. Poverty, distress and economic stagnation blanketed the land. But it was not long before the great creative energies of the New Deal had lifted American from its despair and set us on the path to new heights of prosperity, power and greatness.

Today American is the richest nation in the history of the world. Our power and influence extend around the globe. Yet the challenges and dangers which confront us are even more awesome and difficult than those that face Roosevelt. And we too will need to summon all the energies of our people and the capacities of our leaders if America is to remain a great and free nations — if we are to master the opportunities of the New Frontier.

The dimensions of out problems overwhelm the imagination. At home millions are unemployed and the growth of our economy has come to a virtual halt. Abroad, we are faced with powerful and unrelenting pressure which threaten freedom in every corner of the globe, and with military power so formidable that it menaces the physical survival of our own nation.

To meet these problems will require the efforts not only of our leaders or of the Democratic Party–but the combined efforts of all of our people.; No one has a right to feel that, having entrusted the tasks of government to new leaders in Washington, he can continue to pursue his private comforts unconcerned with American’s challenges and dangers. For, if freedom is to survive and prosper, it will require the sacrifice, the effort and the thoughtful attention of every citizen.

In my own native state of Massachusetts, the battle for American freedom was begun by the thousands of farmers and tradesmen who made up the Minute Men — citizens who were ready to defend their liberty at a moment’s notice. Today we need a nation of minute men; citizens who are not only prepared to take up arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as a basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom. The cause of liberty, the cause of American, cannot succeed with any lesser effort.

It is this effort and concern which makes up the New Frontier. And it is this effort and concern which will determine the success or failure not only with Administration, but of our nation itself.

via John F. Kennedy Quotations – John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum.

06
May
14

5.6.14 … “This media we call social is anything but, when we open our computers and it’s our doors we shut” …

Look Up, YouTube:  When I watched this, I thought to myself, “well done” and “guilty.”

via ▶ Look Up – YouTube.

“This media we call social is anything but, when we open our computers and it’s our doors we shut”… This is one of the most vital messages that everyone needs to hear.

Look Up is a spoken word for the “online” generation. Written, performed and directed by Gary Turk, it is an extremely important life lesson for our youth.  Children are growing up in a world where they don’t play outside or communicate with their friends. It seems today everything is done via text message or over the internet. It’s heartbreaking… I feel guilty myself. We need to spread this message before it’s too late. Please do your part and SHARE it with everyone you know.

via This Is A Video EVERYONE Needs To See. For The First Time In My Life, I’m Speechless. | PetFlow Blog – The most interesting news for pet parents around the world..

 

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver:  I laughed, really laughed and it is now on the dvr. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | The Official Website for the HBO Series.

Small Town_Deep South, Lost & Found,  Hawkinsville GA, kith/kin:  Part of my childhood.  This is the big town 12 miles from the farming town/community of my grandparents.

The little town where my family all lives is called Hawkinsville, and it is where I spent my summers and holidays.  My aunt and uncle have one son who is a year older than me, so we were playmates during my family’s visits.  He and I spent countless hours climbing the big magnolia tree in my grandmother’s side yard, making mud pies, and playing with the old circus toy set tucked away in my grandmother’s closet. The Georgia of my childhood memories is a magical place, and my uncle was a big part of that magic.

via Small Town, Deep South | Lost & Found.

And following links on Hawkinsville GA, I found this: Hawkinsville River Market – Home and this article about the project.  A Hawkinsville Success Story…. Cotton Mill Lofts and River Market Lofts | Shelly Berryhill

cotton-mill-lofts

It was YEARS in the making.   But persistence pays off.   Sitting quietly on 7 acres along the banks of the Ocmulgee river sat an old abandoned textile mill.   Once a thriving business, for years now it sat empty and was fast deteriorating.  Thieves were stealing the copper wiring.   The environmental hazards were many:  from lead paint to the residuals from the towel coloring process used years earlier.    But now it is a 40+ unit residential complex, almost full, with no environmental issues and has a (soon to be) community market attached.

Mr. Sam Way, III knew of a private development company located in Winston Salem, NC.   He knew of them because they had renovated the Historic Hotel in Cordele, Ga where one of his banks is located.   He called and invited them to visit Hawkinsville to see if there were any properties here they might be interested in refurbishing.   They came.   They looked at the Old Hawkinsville Hotel, the Old Hospital, the upstairs “apartments” in many of our downtown buildings and the old Textile Mill.    While interested in all, they kept coming back to the Textile Mill.   However, this was probably going to be a 10 million dollar project, so they were looking for whatever assistance the local community and/or the state could give.   Brainstorming sessions between Landmark Development and the local governments were held.   The Hawkinsville DDA (Downtown Development Authority) wanted one of the three buildings to utilize as a community market and set about getting grant dollars to help.    Landmark was willing to develop one of the two remaining buildings and was seeing what grant dollars that the state might could help with.   They first looked at Historic Tax Credits, but this did not prove viable.   They finally settled on Low Income Housing Tax Credits as a means to fund this project.   The City of Hawkinsville applied for and got a $500K One Georgia Grant to help with the remediation of the environmental issues.  (The City also agreed to pay for the initial real estate appraisal and helped with the grant application fee.  The City also committed to help with any demolition needed with in-kind contributions of city employee labor).

The DDA completed (with the help of Middle Georgia Regional Development Authority) and obtained a $500K grant as well to turn one of the buildings into a community market.

Landmark got a Feasibility study completed and was ready to submit the Low Income Housing Tax Credit application to DCA (Department of Community Affairs).

THEN THE REAL ESTATE MARKET COLLAPSED.   DCA wisely ordered a NEW Feasibility study based on the CURRENT market conditions and the new study called for a much lower occupancy facility.  It was back to the drawing board for all parties.   But no one quit.  No one gave up.  Finally, a few years had gone by, but the new plans and new grant applications were submitted.   DCA approved and we were on our way.

Construction began on both the Cotton Mill Lofts and the Hawkinsville River Market.   In the mean time, that left one building with no use.   A federal grant application for Housing was submitted to the federal government and a $1 million dollar grant was awarded there.   So River Market Lofts (ten slightly more upper scale units) were now on the drawing board as well.

So what is the final outcome of much patience and persistence?  We now have the completed Cotton Mill Lofts and River Market Lofts.   Adding people into our downtown area to shop and live.    We are in the process of trying to open the Hawkinsville River Market, to highlight and sell local produce and merchandise from middle Georgia farmers and vendors.

But at what cost?   Well, the City of Hawkinsville put out around $30K in hard dollars and another $110K in matching in-kind commitments for demolition help.  What did we get in return?   ALOT!

A former environmental eyesore is now a thriving residential complex.   The private developer is required to pay back (over 20 years) the $30K, the $110K AND the $500K grant awarded.    But the great news is that the money will all go to HAWKINSVILLE, not back to the state government.   So our $30K investment will reap over $600K in hard dollars in return.   WOW!

AND, now we have 40+ units flushing toilets, washing dishes, and cleaning clothes on a daily basis.   All of that water is being purchased from the City of Hawkinsville’s water department!

AND, all trash generated is being picked up and billed by the City of Hawkinsville’s sanitation department.

AND, now we have a multi-million dollar real estate parcel on the tax roles (paying property taxes ) rather than a couple of hundred thousand dollar depreciating abandoned textile mill.

AND, now we have proof that public-private partnerships WORK!   The government can’t do it all.  We don’t have the money or the resources.  But we CAN assist private developers to the extent that the law allows and help everyone come out a winner.

via A Hawkinsville Success Story…. Cotton Mill Lofts and River Market Lofts | Shelly Berryhill.

And from the River Market site, I found this …

Oliver Oil Company, artisan oils, pecan oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil,  infused peanut and sunflower oils:

In case you missed it earlier, we added a new line of artisan oils this week. All oils are unrefined and cold-pressed from non-GMO crops all produced and pressed on Oliver Oil Company’s small family farm! They are all incredible and your taste buds will thank you!! Oils include: Pecan, Peanut, and Sunflower. Peanut and Sunflower oils are also available infused.

Members add these to this upcoming week’s order before the TUESDAY CUTOFF! If you haven’t joined us yet, we would love to have you!! REGISTER HERE–> http://www.localorganicmoms.com/

 

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097e288a8e31da936b3d4dcdabc8fbddThe Oliver Farm located near Pitts, Georgia in Wilcox County is a family owned and operated working farm.  Since 2012 the farm has been recognized by the state of Georgia for being a centennial farm; a farm owned by the same family for 100 years or more.  Orginally purchased in 1903 by Daniel Henderson Watson, the farm is currently owned and operated by the fifth generation of the same family.  Crops grown include cotton, peanuts, grain sorghum, rye, soybeans, and sunflowers.  Livestock continues to be an integral part of the farm with beef cattle and swine still on the property. Several original buildings still stand on the farm and continue to be used today.  The log cabin home and kitchen of D.H. Watson still stands and are in use today.  They also serve as reminders of hardships of an earlier time and the perserverance and determination of an earlier time.

The oil business came about from an idea several years ago when fuel prices soared and the American economy faltered. There was a lot of talk about alternative fuel sources. That sparked an interest in an area that I knew very little about. I began researching, visiting oil plants, and talking to individuals in this field.My initial thought was to make my own fuel. The equipment needed to extract oil is expensive, and the savings on fuel would not pay for the equipment for many years. I was fortunate enough to meet a couple of people who influenced me to consider growing, processing, and selling food grade oil. So, in 2012, I grew my first crop of sunflowers for oil production. This endeavor has been very challenging, but deeply rewarding. Currently we are extracting oil from sunflowers, peanuts, and pecans. Plans are in the works for more oilseeds to be used in the future.

via About Us.

**Pecan Oil Dip Recipe-  1 cup Oliver Oil Co. Pecan Oil, 1 1/2 tsp basil, 1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar.  *Combine all ingredients , except oil in a bowl.  Pour oil over and mix.

via Links.

 Bible writers, Thomas Merton, What I Learned During Lent- James Howell: 

Bible writers! Thomas Merton, in his wonderful journal called The Sign of Jonas, began thinking one day that, if he struggled to get anything out of Scripture, he might actually ask the Bible writers themselves for help – assuming they are in heaven, and living eternally…

He mused, “I have a great, though sometimes confused, affection for the writers of the Bible. I feel closer to them than to almost any other writers I know of. Isaiah, Moses, David, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are all part of my life. They are always about me. They look over my shoulder, earnest men… I feel they are very concerned about me, and that they want me to understand what God had them write down – and that they have always surrounded me with solicitous prayers, and that they will always love me and protect me.”

Wow. Bible study feels like a solo activity: I open the book and try to make sense of it or find something helpful. It can be hard, we’re buffaloed at times, distracted or maybe even bored. Maybe I’m in a group, like Disciple – and I at least have friends helping me to reflect and dig deep.

But Merton expands the circle sumptuously! Maybe I am alone, I am hoping to read something from God, a word of hope, or just to know more about God and understand what the heck is going on in my life from God’s viewpoint. What if I could think of Isaiah, Matthew, Paul and John hovering above me, rooting for me, praying for me and loving me?

Easter is about the resurrection, about the dead having a wonderful communion with God – so we might well expect the ancient writers to enjoy each other but also be somehow palpably available to us, maybe even eager to see someone reading their material they labored over and treasured so much.

I’m a writer – and believe me, I think about this stuff long after it’s gone, and I hope and pray you get something from it, and I stand ready to help, to answer a question or two. How much more then would God’s inspired authors feel even more strongly about you and their marvelous library of publications we call the bible? Could Merton be right – that you have some invisible but real help?

James

james@mpumc.org

via What I Learned During Lent- James Howell

Viking River Cruises, Downton Abbey, power of advertising: The other day I posted this inquiry on Facebook:

Last week, I asked one of our pastors what he was doing this summer. He responded that he was taking a river cruise. He then supplemented his response and said that obviously he and his wife were fans of Downton Abbey. So I wonder, has Viking River Cruises seen a big increase due to the popularity of Downton Abbey?

Several friends responded that they had friends or family taking Viking River Cruises because of the ads.   I would love to see the numbers.

 

05
May
14

5.5.14 … SkyMall: A Tour Of The American Psyche … We hurt … We don’t want to look fat … We love our home and our pets … we don’t know where to store our shoes … We wish we had the money to order an 8-foot-tall silverback gorilla statue or a a small, motorized gondola that moves around a pool while a 2-foot-tall gondolier named Luciano Pool-varotti sings …

anthropology, SkyMall, Want A Tour Of The American Psyche? Flip Through SkyMall, NPR:  I love SkyMall, but I must admit I have never bought anything, not one thing.  I’ve mentioned this before … 9.15.2010.

I sometimes thumb through the catalog and wonder what future anthropologists may deduce about life in our times by looking at SkyMall.

They’d find out that we hurt. There are pages of corrective braces, shiatsu leg massagers, reflexology foot massagers, all-day gel seats, while-you-sleep foot relief sleeves and back stretching aids.

They’d also find out that we don’t want to look fat. There are scads of garments that promise to slim, insta-slim, and superslim, maybe while we try to digest the deep-fried pretzel we downed just before boarding.

Travel makes us long for home and pets. There are elevated dog beds — which, by the way, look like something Scarlett O’Hara might sleep in; pet gates — a term that sounds like a White House dog immersed in a scandal; and pet ramps and stairs.

I ordered upholstered pet stairs for our cat, after seeing cunning pictures of cats and dogs in the catalog, strolling on stairs as if touring the National Gallery. I rubbed my cheek on the steps to show our cat they were soft and friendly, but she seems to have now decided they were for me and still jumps on the sofa.

Travel can aggravate our deepest anxieties. Thumb through SkyMall and you’ll see that we don’t know where to store our shoes. We worry about holding on to our hair. We wish we had the money to order an 8-foot-tall silverback gorilla statue in fiberglass resin. We might not be able to imagine where we’d put the statue, but having the $5,000 to spend on it would be nice.

The current catalog shows a small, motorized gondola that moves around a pool while a 2-foot-tall gondolier named Luciano Pool-varotti sings.

You might wonder who would order such a thing? I’ll let you know — delivery is guaranteed in seven to 10 days.

via Want A Tour Of The American Psyche? Flip Through SkyMall : NPR.

New York City Rescue Mission, homeless, makethemvisible.com: Change how you see the homeless.  makethemvisible.com

via ▶ Have the Homeless Become Invisible? – YouTube.

Published on Apr 22, 2014

In this social experiment, unsuspecting people walked by relatives pretending to be homeless. Would they notice their family members? Or have the homeless become invisible? http://MakeThemVisible.com

To find out more about the New York City Rescue Mission visit http://nycrescue.org/

via ▶ Have the Homeless Become Invisible? – YouTube.

President Obama, Is Barry Whiffing? – NYTimes.com:  I followed a link posted by a liberal friend who agreed with this article.  interesting … ” A singles hitter doesn’t scare anybody.”

But that being said, you are the American president. And the American president should not perpetually use the word “eventually.” And he should not set a tone of resignation with references to this being a relay race and say he’s willing to take “a quarter of a loaf or half a loaf,” and muse that things may not come “to full fruition on your timetable.”

An American president should never say, as you did to the New Yorker editor, David Remnick, about presidents through history: “We’re part of a long-running story. We just try to get our paragraph right.”

Mr. President, I am just trying to get my paragraph right. You need to think bigger.

An American president should never say, as you did Monday in Manila when you got frustrated in a press conference with the Philippine president: “You hit singles; you hit doubles. Every once in a while, we may be able to hit a home run.”

Especially now that we have this scary World War III vibe with the Russians, we expect the president, especially one who ran as Babe Ruth, to hit home runs.

In the immortal words of Earl Weaver, the Hall of Famer who managed the Baltimore Orioles: “The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three-run homers.” A singles hitter doesn’t scare anybody.

.via Is Barry Whiffing? – NYTimes.com.

Warren Buffett, Bank of America, BAC:  I think he should have been outraged.  I am.

Mr. Buffett also expressed support for the management of Bank of America Corp. BAC +1.06% , another company in which Berkshire Hathaway owns preferred stock.

Last month, the bank had to reverse course on a stock buyback and dividend-increase plan after miscalculating capital levels. “That error they made does not bother me,” Mr. Buffett said in response to a shareholder question. “It doesn’t change my feeling about Bank of America’s risk management one iota.”

Mr. Buffett invested $5 billion in Bank of America in 2011 in the form of preferred stock that paid 6% a year, and received warrants to purchase 700 million shares as part of that deal. The terms of the preferred stock were renegotiated earlier this year to allow the lender to include it as part of its capital.

The bank was forced to shelve a plan to repurchase shares and boost its dividend for the first time since 2008, after discovering an error that left the lender with $4 billion less in capital than it thought it had.

via Warren Buffett Defends Coke Abstention at Berkshire Meeting – WSJ.com.

Mount St. Helens, LiveScience:  I spent a day touring all the museums near Mt. St. Helens.  It was one of the most interesting of days.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Mount St. Helens is nowhere near another eruption, but new magma is rising underground, heaving the volcano upward and outward by the length of a fingertip, researchers said here today (May 2) at the annual meeting of the Seismological Society of America.

A small amount of magma started pooling 2.5 to 3 miles (4 to 5 kilometers) beneath the volcano in 2008, said lead study author Seth Moran, a seismologist with the Cascades Volcano Observatory in Washington state. The depth comes from the pattern of surface swelling, measured with GPS, and from earthquakes triggered by the molten rock pushing upward. GPS units moved away from the center of the volcano by up to 0.5 inches (12 millimeters) between 2008 and 2013. (Imagine that Mount St. Helens’ magma chamber is like a balloon inflating deep beneath the volcano, pushing everything above it out of the way as it fills with a fresh batch of molten rock.) [Gallery: The Incredible Eruption of Mount St. Helens]

“This doesn’t mean it’s getting ready to erupt,” Moran told Live Science’s Our Amazing Planet. “The balloon has inflated, and it could stay inflated for decades. What we can say, is when it is ready to erupt, we will know.”

The observatory tracked a similar refueling pattern beneath Mount St. Helens during the volcano’s quiet period in the 1980s and 1990s, Moran said. However, the earthquakes were deeper during the first quiet period, at about 4 to 5 miles (6 to 8 km) below the surface, and the magma refueled faster, according to the new results.

Digital elevation map of Mount St. Helens, showing the epicenter of earthquakes from 2008 to 2014.

Credit: S. Moran

Scientists keep a close eye on the Washington volcano, which has erupted on and off since its deadly 1980 blast. Studies of past eruptions suggest Mount St. Helens is more likely to spend the next few hundred years rebuilding a beautiful, snowy peak, rather than blowing the countryside to smithereens.

Even so, the signals from the slumbering volcano are a message to be ready for the next eruption, however small, the researchers said.

“We’re like the fire department,” Moran said. “We’ve got to be ready to go.”

via Mount St. Helens Is Recharging: What Rising Magma Means | LiveScience.

Thomas Cook Train Guide, Redbook, Trainspotters, Train Lovers, Timetable, WSJ.com:  I loved this quirky story about quirky people.

But in Oundle, work is full steam ahead. The compilers hope there is enough traction to make their project work.

“Obviously, you can look a journey up on bahn.de in 10 seconds,” said Mr. Potter, referring to the website of the German railways. “But people buy [timetables] just to read them.”

via Trainspotters and Other Train Lovers Take Timetable to Heart – WSJ.com.

Twitter / GeorgiaPics, Atlanta secret:

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Beautiful Georgia

‏@GeorgiaPics

An Atlanta secret, 1,000’s of people walk by this world map near Hooters & Hard Rock and never notice it. pic.twitter.com/KKfaY33hmX

via Twitter / GeorgiaPics: An Atlanta secret, 1,000’s ….

Twitter / GeorgiaProblemz: A simpler breakdown of Georgia. …

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Georgia Problemz

‏@GeorgiaProblemz

A simpler breakdown of Georgia. pic.twitter.com/cvZgzRHT6L

via Twitter / GeorgiaProblemz: A simpler breakdown of Georgia. ….

University Of New Hampshire,  National Model For Rape Prevention:

DURHAM, N.H., May 2 (Reuters) – The 1987 gang rape of an 18-year-old University of New Hampshire freshman by three fellow students set then-graduate student Jane Stapleton on a course that could revolutionize the way U.S. colleges and universities handle sexual assaults.

Stapleton helped develop a campus program that aims to eradicate sex assaults – not by focusing on potential victims and assailants, but by making other students aware how bystanders can play a key role in preventing an attack.

New Hampshire is one of three universities chosen to help a White House task force come up with a plan that could be rolled out at colleges across the United States to combat what it called a sex assault “epidemic.”

“Instead of pointing fingers at women as victims or potential victims or men as perpetrators or potential perpetrators, it says everybody has a role to play here,” said Stapleton, who is co-director of the Prevention Innovations initiative at UNH.

One in five coeds in the United States falls victim to sexual assault during her student years, studies show, and experts warn that many of the attacks go unreported.

The program, which goes by the acronym SHARPP, runs workshops to teach students practical methods for heading off potential sex attacks, whether it be forming a conga line at a bar to walk an inebriated friend away from unwanted approach or turning on the lights at a party to discourage a sexual advance.

CONFIDENTIAL REPORTING

The university’s program is one of just a handful in the country to treat reports of rape as confidential, not reporting attacks to the police without the victim’s consent.

That is important since most victims of sex assault that takes place on or around a college campus know their attackers, and that can make them less willing to report the crime, said Maggie Wells, Sharpp’s educational outreach coordinator.

“Part of empowerment is getting the situation back under the victim’s control,” Wells said.

Some victims come forward immediately. And when they do, the program dispatches student volunteers to accompany them to a hospital where staff collect the physical evidence police can use to pursue criminal charges.

The university offers other remediation options, from moving an assailant out of a victim’s dorm to suspending the attacker from school until the victim graduates, even if that takes years, said Amy Culp, the program’s interim director.

One of the main challenges faced by the program’s staff and 38 student volunteers is overcoming the perception that sex assaults are an inevitable part of college culture.

via University Of New Hampshire Sets National Model For Rape Prevention.

film synopsis, Wizard of Oz:  I chuckled …

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Steve Silberman

‏@stevesilberman

Best film synopsis ever. [By @ShakeNTell] http://goo.gl/7IIcPS  pic.twitter.com/lAFpTpGByk

via Twitter / stevesilberman: Best film synopsis ever. [By ….

12 Literary Spots, London, book lover:  Next time I visit …

A guide to the best (and mostly free) places to channel some of the city’s greatest writers and celebrate their works.

via 12 Literary Spots In London That Every Book Lover Needs To Visit.

And these are my favorites …

4. The Harry Potter Shop at Platform 9¾

6. Sherlock Holmes Museum & Shop

8. Charles Dickens Museum

12.  Shakespeare’s Globe

via 12 Literary Spots In London That Every Book Lover Needs To Visit.

 

 

03
May
14

5.3.14 … Bring it on. We are ready! …

Ed Lindsey for Congress, kith/kin: I realize that I never posted this last year … and actually the primary date was changed again and IS  May 20.  So, Georgia friends, get out and VOTE.

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As edlindsey.us says, “Federal Court sets primary date for Congressional races in Georgia for June 3, 2014. Bring it on. We are ready!”

U.S. District Judge Steve Jones on Thursday ordered Georgia’s federal election calendar turned upside down, moving the date of the all-important primary for U.S. Senate and other contests  from the traditional mid-July to June 3 – the earliest such date in Georgia history.

Read the order here.

The calendar change, which currently affects federal contests only, also expands the primary runoff period from three weeks to more than two months – which could substantially increase the cost of running, particularly for four Republicans now in next year’s Senate contest.

via Your daily jolt: By federal order, Georgia’s 2014 primary will… | Political Insider | www.ajc.com.

28 Things That Happened After The Harry Potter Books Ended:

BONUS: JK Rowling’s hand-drawn family tree.

via 28 Things That Happened After The Harry Potter Books Ended.

Small world, UGA ’85 classmates, kith/kin: Small world … I had lunch with Lila Bradley the other day, and she grew up in Brunswick with my “cuzzin”  Jane Lou! I love it when my worlds collide. And I loved catching up with my law school friend and look forward to our next one in July.

Unapologetically Episcopalian, MORNING PRAYER: Starting my day with this site’s morning post is one of my favorite morning rituals. Thank you, Unapologetically Episcopalian, for this gift every morning! And I’m Presbyterian!

~ MORNING PRAYER

• Opening Sentence

Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Hebrews 9:24

• Collect of the Day ~ Second Sunday of Easter

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

• A Collect for Saturdays

Almighty God, who after the creation of the world rested from all your works and sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that we, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of your sanctuary, and that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

• A Prayer for Mission

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

• For Joy in God’s Creation

O heavenly Father, who has filled the world with beauty: Open our eyes to behold your gracious hand in all your works; that, rejoicing in your whole creation, we may learn to serve you with gladness; for the sake of him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

• Hymn

The Cambridge Singers perform John Rutter’s setting of “For the Beauty of the Earth”

via ▶ For the Beauty of the Earth – John Rutter – YouTube.

via Unapologetically Episcopalian.

02
May
14

5.2.14 … Delicious Trumps, Pretense Stinks, Comfort Feels Good …

Local Three Kitchen & Bar – Atlanta:

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So I first heard of Local Three last week here in Charlotte.  Chef Chris Hall was in Charlotte for Charlotte Food and Wine.  I enjoyed him, so I sought his restaurant out in Atlanta.  My experience was very good.  The Vidalia Onion Soup and the Hoppin John  were both excellent.  But the cost was excessive for lunch.  So although I would recommend the food (it was delicious!), I would not recommend the restaurant unless you are on an expense account.

Creamy Vidalia Onion Soup: Cabot Cheddar, Thyme, Garlic Croutons $4.53/$6.53

Hoppin’ John $4.93

Pimento Cheese Grits $4.93

Carolina Mountain Trout: Anson Mills Rice Grits, “Succotash”, Lobster Saffron Broth $19.93

via Local Three Kitchen & Bar – Atlanta Restaurant.

Their restaurant Local Three represents a shared philosophy on food, drink, hospitality and how to do business. That philosophy is straightforward: People Matter Most, Local Is Priority, Seasonal Makes Sense, Authenticity Rules, Quality Governs, Delicious Trumps, Pretense Stinks, Comfort Feels Good, Appreciation Tastes Better, Prudence Sustains It All.

via Local Three Kitchen & Bar – Atlanta Restaurant.

Daily Meditation by Henri Nouwen, friends:

One friend may offer us affection, another may stimulate our minds, another may strengthen our souls. The more able we are to receive the different gifts our friends have to give us, the more able we will be to offer our own unique but limited gifts. Thus, friendships create a beautiful tapestry of love.

via Daily Meditation: May 2, 2014 | Daily Meditation by Henri Nouwen.

Do or Di, blogs, Westminster classmates:  I have always loved Di’s humor and joie de vie.  It shows in her new blog.  Enjoy!

Do or Di | fixed on the horizon; happily distracted by the present

fixed on the horizon; happily distracted by the present

via Do or Di | fixed on the horizon; happily distracted by the present.

Andy Baio @waxpancake, Kickstarter:

Andy Baio @waxpancake,

Kickstarter turned five today, and the team made a video looking back at its crazy history: youtube.com/watch?v=qcR_UH…

29 Apr

 

On April 28th 2009 at 4:27 pm EST, Kickstarter went live. To celebrate the past five years, we put together this history of Kickstarter.

via ▶ A Brief History of Kickstarter – YouTube.

Freshman Shames Ivy League College with His Personal Story About ‘White Privilege’, Princeton University: Worth reading and thinking about …

My exploration did yield some results. I recognize that it was my parents’ privilege and now my own that there is such a thing as an American dream which is attainable even for a penniless Jewish immigrant.

I am privileged that values like faith and education were passed along to me. My grandparents played an active role in my parents’ education, and some of my earliest memories included learning the Hebrew alphabet with my Dad. It’s been made clear to me that education begins in the home, and the importance of parents’ involvement with their kids’ education—from mathematics to morality—cannot be overstated. It’s not a matter of white or black, male or female or any other division which we seek, but a matter of the values we pass along, the legacy we leave, that perpetuates “privilege.” And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Behind every success, large or small, there is a story, and it isn’t always told by sex or skin color. My appearance certainly doesn’t tell the whole story, and to assume that it does and that I should apologize for it is insulting. While I haven’t done everything for myself up to this point in my life, someone sacrificed themselves so that I can lead a better life. But that is a legacy I am proud of.

I have checked my privilege. And I apologize for nothing.

via Freshman Shames Ivy League College with His Personal Story About ‘White Privilege’.

A friend posted the above  and another mutual friend responded with this.  I have to admit I laughed.

via ▶ Louis CK – Being White – YouTube.

Uploaded on Nov 27, 2008

From his latest stand-up “Chewed Up” – Louis CK tells people why it’s great being a white male. It’s advantages and it’s futuristic disadvantages.

via ▶ Louis CK – Being White – YouTube.

18 Things to Eat, Buy, and Do in Puerto Rico, KieroCoco Coconut Water, food & drink:  I loved Puerto Rico, so I thought I would share this list.

Fresh coconut juice is one of the great, unsung pleasures in life, and I’m not ashamed to say I marched around El Mercado cradling a giant coconut pierced with a frilly cocktail umbrella. At the KieroCoco stand, from whence it came, you select your coconut (rounder ones are juicier; browner ones are sweeter), and then drill into it with the help of a hand-cranked doohickey attached to a mobile cart.

via 18 Things to Eat, Buy, and Do in Puerto Rico

2.4.13 … Becoming Kind … | Dennard’s Clipping Service:  Everyone once a while I notice repeated returns to one post.  With this post, originally it was because of the cone of shame cartoon.  But later, I am not sure what has drawn the interest to this 2.4.13 … Becoming Kind …  I then laughed at myself because a post that is entitled, “Becoming Kind,” leads with a cartoon referenced as “cone of shame.”

New Yorker Cartoons, The New Yorker, cell phones, cone of shame, LOL:  I deserve a cone of shame  …

 Downton Abbey, Dowager, quotes:  The Dowager, she gets all the good quotes!

Albert Schweitzer, quotes, A Mighty Girl:  A Might Girl is one of my favorite source for quotes.

 

“Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.” — Albert Schweitzer

via A Mighty Girl.

just a thought …, Henri Nouwen, Tolstoi, kindness:

Here is the great challenge: All people, whatever their color, religion, or sex, belong to humankind and are called to be kind to one another, treating one another as brothers and sisters. There is hardly a day in our lives in which we are not called to this.

via Daily Meditation: Becoming Kind.

Nothing can make our lives, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness. – Leo Tolstoy in A Calendar of Wisdom

via Nothing can make our lives, or the lives of other… • literary jukebox.

when bad things happen …, What Gives 365:  From one of my favorite blogs …

I went to church this morning wanting to thank the universe for sparing us … but that assumes, of course, that the universe would have been punishing us had things turned out differently. And therein lies the shame and guilt when bad things happen. The truth is a terrible accident can happen to anyone, at any time, and often there is nobody to blame. But that reality is awfully terrifying to admit; we want our universe to make more sense than that and we want to feel as if our good intentions and conduct will spare us from tragedy.

via Up in smoke. | What Gives 365.

E.B. White, quotes, LOL:

source: Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership..

via 2.4.13 … Becoming Kind … | Dennard’s Clipping Service.

 




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